I loved Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke in Body Heat, too.

I once saw _Mommy Dearest_ at a party where (to our host's great irritation) everyone quickly began treating it like _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ , laughing, commenting, and chanting the lines along with the actors. " _Tina! Bring_ me the _axe!_ "

Larry Kasdan had a good week.

Body Heat was so good. Just a great story with a great ending.

Continental Divide is such a gem of a movie. John Belushi would have gone on to play many more leading man roles.

Belushi's character in "Continental Divide" was loosely based on the "Chicago Daily News", the 'Chicago Sun-Times," and the "Chicago Tribune" columnist Mike Royko.

Watching these films from 70s reminds me of how smoking was so normal at the time. Ugh. And I look at Kathleen Turner and wonder how differently she would have aged had she not been a smoker.

"I will always beat you!" Talk about foreshadowing! Wait till the wire hanger comes out!

I wish they would have continued with the Dog of The Week segment, or something similar, on their subsequent review shows. God knows there is never a shortage of lousy movies.

Went to a gay dance club in 81 It was no more wire hanger night what a blast!

The actor who played Louis B. Mayer in Mommie Dearest also played Benjamin Franklin in the film version of the musical 1776.

Coming from an abusive, dysfunctional home myself, I take issue with Gene's complaint that the movie doesn't explain why Joan is acting towards her children the way she does. Seeing as how this movie (and the book) is told from the abused child's (Christina Crawford) point of view, being an abused child myself, I can explain why the movie (and the book) doesn't explain why Joan acted the way she did. Because as children we really don't know. We can't explain it. We were children. Not psychologists. Even in our adult years, we are still unable to explain why our abusive parents acted the way they did to us kids. It's no wonder Christina didn't include the reasoning behind Joan's abuses in her book. Because she obviously didn't know the reasons why. For what its worth, Christina Crawford also hated the movie for various reasons. While the movie was based on her book, she had no creative control over how they made the movie. Anyways, here is the REAL christmas radio interview that is portrayed in the movie and shown here in the Siskel and Ebert review: m.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z9B7dZuVksq3qn0.html

Makes you wonder where Belushi could’ve gone had he lived.

Here for Body Heat

Loved loved Continental Divide. Big crush on Miss Brown as.a 16 yr old for me.

Saw Body Heat, Continental Divide and Mommie Dearest. All good.

Continental Divide...Produced by a young up and comer named Steven Spielberg...

6:40 Holy moley! Another Kevin Bacon sighting! :D

My brother had to remind me recently that the very first movie we ever watched on premium cable was Chu Chu and the Philly Flash. IIRC, it was a channel called Spotlight. One of the minor ones, now long gone, which was competing with HBO and Showtime. I literally remember nothing about that movie except Carol and Alan walking down the street arguing with each other.

Great post...

Faye Dunaway gave the performance of her career in Mommie Dearest, a favorite movie of mine. Body Heat had two of the Nola's from The Doctors: Kathleen Turner and Kim Zimmer! I loved Only When I Laugh so much back then, would love to see it again!

Mommy Dearest is a great comedy.

The plot of Body Heat is so tightly written, and the acting so on point. The script is written with fire in every word, and when the end comes and you realize that from the very first moment that he sees her she already knew he was there, already knew everything about him, and that she could USE him. This makes Maddie Walker one of the best Strong Female Characters in film history. She becomes that not because she fist-fights men and beats them up (as you see in the films of today) no. She uses the fact that she is a beautiful woman, she know this and she uses it to her own advantage. I imagine that the real-life French spy in WW1, Mata Hari must have worked the same way that Maddie Walker works in this film. She is played by Kathleen Turner so well that it kicked off a career for her. As for Mommie Dearest, I do not understand why people bad mouth this film. It was bases--we know--a a book written by a woman who was cut out of the will and thus had an axe to grind. Tearing down the legacy of Joan Crawford was her only chance for revenge. Yes, she is just that petty. Faye did such a great job channeling Joan. Even IF, and I am not saying that she did, she did punish the kids, we know from today's society that punishing kids produces well mannered adults. Let's not forget that Joan was a movie star and not an actress, so naturally she would want her kids to PROJECT according to her script. First Monday in October was another film that suffered from miscasting. Jill is just not right for this role. Sigourney Weaver would have been better. She could have infused real emotion into the role, whereas Jill just says words. We see this same thing in today's music. Singers (and I use that term loosely) today merely say the words, whereas when you listen to artists like Tanya Tucker (Blood Red and Goin' Down is a great example, and she was only 14 when she sang that song), or Elvis (In the Ghetto) you can hear the emotion they feel as they sing.

Mathau worked so much over the couse of his career that his performances tend toward blandness. What surprised me was that Clayburgh was so bad in the First Monday in October review.

I like Body Heat and Momniw Dearest.

Depressing was a criticism of Mommie Dearest for Siskel & Ebert. That was the point of the film. Siskel is a little better, but neither he nor Ebert seriously treat child abuse.

Body heat. Good movie, awesome ending.

Except for Mommie Dearest, which I found depressingly dark, I loved each of these films when they first came out. But First Monday In October and Continental Divide were tied for my favorites. Kathleen Turner made me into a man! And Body Heat was the best film noir I'd seen in years.

Whoa yet another small young Kevin bacon role (in “only when I laugh”)

"Mommy Dearest" was based on a book written by a bitter adopted daughter who was pissed because mommy dearest left her out of her will when Joan Crawford died. That's why we don't know the origin of Crawford's fury because there was no fury. Most people don't even know Crawford had 4 children, not 2, and her other kids, including Christopher, have said the book was a pack of lies. The film is an exercise in inexperienced directing. The director was too intimated by Dunaway's stardom to tell her she's over acting the part. Thus, the movie is campy because we're laughing for the wrong reasons.

If Mommie Dearest makes you cringe; doesn’t it do it’s job? Faye Dunaway is always great

Young Kevin Bacon.

To answer their question, Joan Crawford’s motivation for being miserable can’t be explored as the story was written by the adopted daughters point of view. How would she know? She only knew the misery, not the real woman behind it.

Am I the only person that liked Only When I Laugh?

I have to see body heat , I've heard so many good things & they love it. Mommie dearest is the best bad movie to love. So over the top & crazy. " no wire hangers eveerer!!"

Mommy Dearest so sad

Just because James Coco was gay in the movie doesn't mean he has a boyfriend Lol and Marsha Mason was never raped in it

Kevin Bacon at 6:28 !!

Only When I Laugh is abysmal.

Come on. You can’t say that Mommie Dearest isn’t enjoyable. It surely is. It is surely serious camp, but it’s interesting camp.

I admire Rodger Ebert's often brilliant observations of films, but for him to say out loud: "Who who would wanna--I can't IMAGINE who would want to see this film."--that statement reduces me to a base, morbid, sicko filmmaker. How dare I watch repeated viewings of this debased, sensationalistic pseudo-sadistic drivel. The point both guys missed here is the same mark they miss about David Lynch films or films that deal with Spirituality. These litter white nerds even made fun of Poltergeist for having ghosts in it! Siskel and Ebert simply do not understand the Freudian element within film or literature itself. They would HATE Salmande Rushdie novels, if they would even even bother to explore metaphysical literature at all. I was a victim of severe child abuse from a MEXICAN Narcisistic mother and whimpy, closeted, enabling father. (And this is what actually led me to become a film-maker). True victims of such abuses know very well that this film required NO explanation for Joan Crawford's motives for abuse. They already know exactly what she was: a woman unchained, unfettered and unchecked. A Narccisistic predator who obsessively mirrored herself in grandeur only to hide the self-loathing emptyness within. Priviledged, sheltered Siskel & Ebert would have no clue. Yeah, Mr. Rodger Ebert, maybe I was getting-off on the explicit horror scenes that made up this film. But did it ever occur to you that I might have actually been taking notes? You see, it helps me hide the tears, Mr. Ebert. Sincerely, Your, _Acoustic Rabbit Hole_

Did Siskel get certain characters in Body Heat completely wrong or was he was just throwing people off?

I think Ebert came out being "the longer careered" critic because Siskel must have chosen a different life--Ebert IS OVERATED!

" no wire hangers everrrrrrr" Lawrence kasden wrote so many great screenplays but lost his talent i.e Co writing the horrid Disney star wars films

Here is my comment...they both loved Star 80 , which is a Brilliant film but also the most depressing film I ever saw and watched it twice, from 14 yrs to 44 and still felt the same, but Mommie Dearest has some of the same depressing feelings, but a Brilliant performance by Faye Dunaway and they are against the child abuse So why is that movie, which is so depraved , but its so well acted and Mommie Dearest is just as depraved but well acted but they give it a low rating

Spot must have died.

The giant TV graphic takes up over half of the image. That's silly and necessary.

Did Roger not understand that Mommie Dearest was based on the book written by her daughter? And that the book was a huge best seller?

The only film Kathleen Turner looked good in. She immediately hit the wall after Body Heat